The Euro may well be the saviour of beleaguered retailers this Christmas as consumers take advantage of the Christmas sales to spend their last Irish pounds.
According to Mr Aidan Grimes, general manager of Blanchardstown shopping centre after a slow start the annual Christmas shopping spree is now in full swing.
"October certainly showed signs of caution and uncertainty in the wake of the September 11th attacks. However by mid-November trade was definitely up in line with last year." Mr Grimes said.
"Retailers are reporting brisk trade and we expect that in spite of the slowdown in the economy generally, that our Christmas spend will actually be slightly higher than last year." he added.
Consumers are expected to raid their piggy banks for a final splurge before the euro. "We expect large crowds for the first few days of the annual sales, particularly from Thursday the 27th of December until New Years Eve," Mr Grimes said.
Over 1.5 million people will visit the Blanchardstown Centre in December and over €95 million will be spent in the next three weeks, said Mr Grimes.
Interestingly, the mild winter has meant that fashion retailers are reporting slower than usual sales of winter fashions
The mild winter has meant that fashion retailers are reporting slower than usual sales of winter fashions. But sales in the non-clothing sector, particularly jewellery, games, toys and CDS are extremely buoyant.